{"id":21849,"date":"2019-01-11T08:43:57","date_gmt":"2019-01-11T14:43:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/?page_id=21849"},"modified":"2022-12-07T12:21:47","modified_gmt":"2022-12-07T18:21:47","slug":"christmas-2018","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/about-us\/our-christmas-letters\/christmas-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"The 2018 Flanders Family Christmas Letter"},"content":{"rendered":"

What follows is another yearly installment in our family’s complete history told via the 2018 Flanders Family Christmas Update. To see a full listing, see Our Christmas Letters<\/a>. For tips on writing your own family history in this fashion, follow this link<\/a>. In the meantime, enjoy!<\/em><\/p>\n

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The Flanders Family Update: 2018<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

December 2017 Happenings<\/h3>\n

We spent most of last December backpacking Europe<\/strong>. The fact that David, Bonnie, and Gwen are now living in Germany (and loving it!) was all the excuse we needed to cash in our frequent flyer miles<\/a> and head oversees. <\/p>\n

\"Flanders<\/p>\n

\"David<\/p>\n

\"David<\/p>\n

It was a cold but festive time of the year to travel: Nearly every city we visited boasted a bustling Christmas market<\/strong>, aglow with millions of twinkling lights and flanked by bedazzled evergreens, elaborate nativity scenes, live choirs singing a constant stream of carols, and some rendition of St. Nicholas passing out free gingerbread, croissants, Swiss chocolates, and even giftwrapped toys to passersby\u2026. <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

To maximize daylight hours available for sightseeing, we slept on night trains whenever possible<\/strong>. This strategy worked well until Dad, Isaac, and Daniel ended up sharing a compartment with a stranger leaving Budapest who shook Doug awake every five minutes all night long and ordered him to quit snoring. <\/p>\n

\"Night<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Mom, Gabriel, and the four girls packed themselves like sardines into a closet-sized sleeper with three bunks on either side. We snoozed soundly, but awakened with full bladders to find the deadbolt had malfunctioned and trapped us in. It took half an hour and an SOS call to the conductor to extricate us<\/strong>, with mere seconds to spare, before the train sped down the tracks toward its next stop. <\/p>\n

\"on<\/p>\n

\"train<\/p>\n

The kids were troopers for our whirlwind tour of the continent<\/strong> — hiking long distances without complaint, braving snowy weather, and watching out for one another at every turn. <\/p>\n

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Note to self for next time we visit Prien a Chiemsee: (1) this boat passage is not covered by Eurail pass, (2) if you spend all your cash on boat tickets, visit an ATM before boarding, (3) restaurants on the islands don\u2019t accept credit cards, (4) always check if a restaurant accepts credit cards before ordering, and preferably before being seated, (5) be sure you get off on the right island, (6) the Christmas Market is not on the same island as the castle, (7) the ice on the hillside is slick, so keep a firm grasp on the handrail while traversing, (8) although nobody tells you this, the castle tickets include a guided tour, so don\u2019t keep your guide waiting, and (9) the castle is amazing \u2014 essentially a replica of Versailles, but on an island \u2014 so even if you forget everything else and you\u2019re feeling cold, tired, and hungry, don\u2019t turn back until you\u2019ve seen it. #noregrets #learningfrommymistakes #flandersfamilybackpackseurope #flandersfamilytravels<\/a><\/p>\n

A post shared by Jennifer Flanders<\/a> (@flanders_family) on